Launch of Apple's Newsstand in iOS 5 accelerates magazine sales

The launch of Apple's Newsstand storefront and dedicated folder in iOS 5 has not only boosted, but also accelerated subscription rates for one prominent magazine.

Popular Science +, the digital publication produced for iPad by Mag+, saw its sales leap 13 percent in one week after Newsstand debuted in October. But as noted by Peter Kafka of All Things D, what's even more promising for the publication is the fact that the magazine's growth continued to pick up after that launch week with more velocity.

Cumulative subscription rates for Popular Science + leapt from 28,658 to 32,335 immediately following the launch of Newsstand. In the following weeks, subscriptions continued to grow at a faster rate, and eventually reached more than 40,000 by early October.

The new numbers from Mag+ are the first time concrete numbers have been released to show the effect the launch of Newsstand has had on digital publications. In October, soon after the launch of iOS 5, Conde Nast revealed that Newsstand has boosted subscription sales by 268 percent on the iPad, though longer term trends have not been revealed.

Apple unveiled the Newsstand feature in June as part of the first public preview of iOS 5 at the Worldwide Developers Conference. In addition to a dedicated storefront and folder, it also allows publications to automatically download updated content in the background.

Users can also sign up for recurring subscriptions to publications on the iPhone or iPad, and ongoing charges will be added to their iTunes account and accompanying credit card. Apple takes a 30 percent cut of subscriptions placed through the App Store, which has kept some major publications like The Wall Street Journal from adopting Apple's subscription policies or making their application available in Newsstand.

40,000 subscribers is hardly 'many' when you consider that there are 300,000,000 Americans. (and I believe the 40,000 figure is global).

The better comparison would be to the magazine's print subscriptions, which -- if it has followed the pattern of other print magazines -- has been gradually declining over the last decade.

Also, iOS is a growing platform. Subscription-model digital magazines have a huge opening to grow among the current installed base of iPad users at the same time as the base continues to grow.

I'm looking forward to seeing more titles come online and more titles move from my magazine folder to the Newsstand folder. New Republic and National Review updated to the Newsstand today. Bon Appetite is supposedly coming in January or February.

I only subscribe to a small handful of titles, but I like browsing Newsstand for new covers just like I would at the grocery store. I'll likely subscribe to a few more titles and occasionally pick up single issues of other magazines that look interesting.

Also, iOS is a growing platform. Subscription-model digital magazines have a huge opening to grow among the current installed base of iPad users at the same time as the base continues to grow.

Well, iOS is about to hit a brick wall in 2012. Although I agree that 7" form factor is just a bit too small for magazine. It's just that iOS and the iPad are in for a major fall thanks to Kindle, Nook and many others ramping their products at a much cheaper price. For a majority of users the are good enough and the price is unbeatable.

Well, iOS is about to hit a brick wall in 2012. Although I agree that 7" form factor is just a bit too small for magazine. It's just that iOS and the iPad are in for a major fall thanks to Kindle, Nook and many others ramping their products at a much cheaper price. For a majority of users the are good enough and the price is unbeatable.

Dude, you're contrarianism is really really old. You're the Boy Who Cried Wolf, talking shit the whole time and the one time you might have something good to say no one will listen to you because you're always talking bullshit.

As you might imagine, when I see your handle attached to a comment I just glance over it because there is nothing valuable there.

I confess I have yet to subscribe to any magazine but this is one I may well. It is gratifying to know science is still followed by many in the USA!

I was quite gung-ho about the idea of digital magazines but have yet to subscribe to any at all. I search the market every week or two for magazines but so far my Newsstand app is completely empty.

IMO magazines have almost outgrown their usefulness. When you consider the price, the fact that they are all full of advertisements, and the reality that almost all the information they contain is not only available elsewhere but also available elsewhere for free, it's hard to see the value.

They should either be free, or have no ads for starters. One or the other, not both.

And if I'm going to pay what works out to over a hundred bucks a year (average price) for a subscription to a magazine, it should have some very unique and very rich and deep content that just can't be found anywhere else.

So far I haven't found a single digital magazine that fits the bill.

What's worse, is that most of the really forward thinking magazines have been distributed by Zinio for a long time now and aren't likely to switch to the iOS app store. So the few magazines I *could* see myself buying digitally, are forever locked into that old-school Zinio model and thus, unavailable.

Well, iOS is about to hit a brick wall in 2012. Although I agree that 7" form factor is just a bit too small for magazine. It's just that iOS and the iPad are in for a major fall thanks to Kindle, Nook and many others ramping their products at a much cheaper price. For a majority of users the are good enough and the price is unbeatable.

"Well, iOS is about to hit a brick wall in 2012."

In your dreams SlapHappy!. You've really wet your knickers in excitement over an alleged iPhone loss of marketshare claimed by one so called research organisation nobody has heard of before in France, Germany and Spain. The report was so vague, but it appears to have been referring to units shipped, which is what Android OEMs always quote instead of unit sales. It may be this alleged gain of Android market share in November (if it is true, which remains to be seen) was in three European countries in which Samsung and other Android OEMs were facing litigation, so they may have been stuffing their channels ahead of possible injunctions banning imports.

But SlapHappily what you ignore is that there are numerous reports of the iPhone enjoying record sales well ahead of expectations with queues and waiting lists in most countries around the world. Apple's main problem is how to make enough iPhones to meet demand!

As for tablets there is no evidence of Kindles and Nook taking more than marginal market share from iPads but many reports that they are taking market share off other Androids tablets. Most informed commentators expect the iPad to continue to grow sales strongly this year and next and take the cream of affluent buyers and 96% of the enterprise market, while the Kindle and Nook get the less affluent and kids with cheap and cheerful devices that can't even read magazines properly!

I have subscribed to a bunch of magazines. Originally I used the zinio app but now that news stand is out I have switched over for some of them. I know allot of people say there is no use for magazines, but for me, I do like the more in-depth articles that the magazines I subscribe to bring. I also read allot of content on the web (Flipboard ROCKS!). But allot times there's too much clutter and crap journalism and I don't want to waste all my time searching around for something good to read. A magazine is really curation of articles from a trusted source, alot of which i would never find on my own.

I hope the web and digital magazines can coexist. I would hate to see them go away

I was quite gung-ho about the idea of digital magazines but have yet to subscribe to any at all. I search the market every week or two for magazines but so far my Newsstand app is completely empty.

IMO magazines have almost outgrown their usefulness. When you consider the price, the fact that they are all full of advertisements, and the reality that almost all the information they contain is not only available elsewhere but also available elsewhere for free, it's hard to see the value.

They should either be free, or have no ads for starters. One or the other, not both.

And if I'm going to pay what works out to over a hundred bucks a year (average price) for a subscription to a magazine, it should have some very unique and very rich and deep content that just can't be found anywhere else.

So far I haven't found a single digital magazine that fits the bill.

What's worse, is that most of the really forward thinking magazines have been distributed by Zinio for a long time now and aren't likely to switch to the iOS app store. So the few magazines I *could* see myself buying digitally, are forever locked into that old-school Zinio model and thus, unavailable.

Indeed and like TV subscriptions, if ads are there I am not paying for it.

Well, iOS is about to hit a brick wall in 2012. Although I agree that 7" form factor is just a bit too small for magazine. It's just that iOS and the iPad are in for a major fall thanks to Kindle, Nook and many others ramping their products at a much cheaper price. For a majority of users the are good enough and the price is unbeatable.

What happened to your predictions that Apple and all their creations would fail in 2008? And they you predicted it for 2009. Then again for 2010. And then again this year. So now that Apple has collapsed from all their profit, mind share and industry innovations make a company fail it's all doom and gloom for 2012. Good luck with that!

This bot has been removed from circulation due to a malfunctioning morality chip.

40,000 subscribers is hardly 'many' when you consider that there are 300,000,000 Americans. (and I believe the 40,000 figure is global).

How many copied of a magazine do you think Popular Science prints? Millions? No it's in thousands. The difference people throw away their printed magazines while you can save them all on iPad. Popular Science has a chance of hitting you with an ad more often.

I like it. I get Business Weel, the NY Times and Consumer Reports now. I never open the dead tree editions any more. For some reason, MacWorld doesn't offer the option yet. BW gives me the option of reopen ing back issues. CU seems a bit awkward to use, so far.

Apple's Newsstand has to be better than the proprietary APP Kelby Media is using for their online magazine "Light It". I (and tons of others) paid for issues that refuse to download and Kelby Media can't seem to fix the problems. NO refunds due to "in app" purchase guidelines. This all happened because Kelby Media got greedy, arrogant, and wanted control and DRM on everything. They assume their paying customers are thieves but Kelby Media will NEVER get another dime from me.

There is a reason iTunes Newsstand is the preferred route for online subscriptions. Buyer BEWARE!

And if I'm going to pay what works out to over a hundred bucks a year (average price) for a subscription to a magazine, it should have some very unique and very rich and deep content that just can't be found anywhere else.

I'm curious to what magazines are you looking at that average $100/year? The most expensive I've seen so far is Robb Report at $49.99/year.

Most others I checked out were under $25/year, but I may not be looking in the categories that charge a premium price.